A federal officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shot a man in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, 20 September 2026. The incident occurred during an immigration enforcement operation in the city's north side.
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, a Venezuelan national who has lived in the United States for two years and had been ordered removed, was shot once in the back between his shoulder blades. Video posted online reportedly shows an ICE officer shooting at Garcés Pérez’s car three times. Garcés Pérez told onlookers he was shot because he had not stopped.
After receiving first aid from Austin police and being taken to a hospital, Garcés Pérez was taken into federal custody by ICE. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, stated on Monday that he was located at the South Texas ICE Processing Center with a bullet still lodged in his back and no pain medication.
Austin's Democratic Mayor, Kirk Watson, expressed anger and a lack of surprise over the shooting, citing the nature of ICE's operations. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, stated Garcés Pérez was in stable condition and in federal custody pending removal. DHS and the FBI are investigating the shooting, though Austin leaders have called for city police and Texas Rangers to assist due to public distrust in DHS.
The shooting follows months of increased immigration enforcement in Austin, particularly in immigrant-heavy neighbourhoods and Hispanic suburbs. Protests gathered at the scene of the shooting, lasting late into the night and resulting in several arrests.